Tag Archives: Arsene Wenger

Laurent Koscielny: We doubted Wenger

  By jtom | 11/05/2012 - 7:30 AM | Arsene Wenger, Laurent Koscielny
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In a revealing conversation with France Football, Laurent Koscielny said that the Gunners doubted everything and everyone—even Arsene Wenger—after they began they season so terribly.

Real information regarding the attitude in the Arsenal dressing room is sparse. Players rarely, if ever, give interviews with outside media sources. That is why Laurent Koscielny’s comments, which appeared in Thursday’s edition of France Football, are so intriguing:

“The start of the season was catastrophic. We lost key players from our system. There was late recruitment of new players and the mayonnaise needed time to ‘take’.

“There was the thrashing at Old Trafford. The whole world buried us. But you don’t lose your football like that.

“It can happen that a small grain of sand jams the engine and after that you start to doubt your own qualities, the club, the coach and everything else. We needed to sort that out. Everyone got down to doing just that, the coach, the club.

“The group was not giving enough for the club and we realised that. We got down to work and we said the things we needed to say. After that, one win, two wins, confidence returns and things follow on from that. The new players were immersed in the group and so on.”

Koscielny is definitely one of the most improved players in Arsene Wenger’s squad, if not the Premier League. The French centre-back has come a long way from that gaffe involving Wojciech Szczesny at Wembley Stadium. In fact, Koscielny may now be the best centre-half on the team. While Thomas Vermaelen scores more goals, he also makes more defensive mistakes, such as slipping to the ground at key times

Koscielny’s insights are interesting because they show how low the club really was only several months ago; everything seemed to be lost. The scribes who wrote that Arsenal players have no heart or passion or leadership ability were wrong (and they were only saying that because they dislike Arsene Wenger’s foreigners). Having lost two very talented footballers right at the start of the season, the Gunners have battled back and performed admirably since. However, the job must be completed on Sunday by beating West Brom and securing the third place in the table.

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Rumour: Pep Guardiola to Arsenal!

  By jtom | 04/04/2012 - 7:50 AM | Uncategorized
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A mysterious Twitter message posted by Marca TV has suggested that Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola’s future lies at the Emirates Stadium.

Translated from Spanish, the Twitter message that sparked the rumours reads: “Although it seems that the renewal of Pep for the club (Barca) is imminent, a very good source tells us that his destiny is Arsenal.”

The post originates from Marca TV, which is the television channel affilated with Spanish sports newspaper Marca. Now, Marca are known to publish some less-than-reliable stories, but the information for this rumour apparently came from a “very good source.”

It is important to notice that the message does not state when Guadiola’s move from Barcelona to Arsenal will happen. There is no indication that he will take over from Arsene Wenger at the end of this season, though it could be a possibility.

Guardiola has spoken before about his desire to someday manage in the Premier League. Perhaps it is the new challenge that excites him, or maybe he wants to quiet the critics who say that he wouldn’t have success away from the Camp Nou. Whatever the reason, it is not surprising that Guardiola would target Arsenal as his club of choice.

Of course, Guardiola has been linked with the Chelsea job, but no one wants to work under Roman Abramovich. Arsenal are a stable club. While Guardiola would be replacing a legend in Arsene Wenger, the current crop of Gunners are not equal to the group that last won silverware. There is room for improvement, unlike at Manchester United. At the Emirates Stadium, there is not a large hill to climb for the Gunners to reach the top and the resources appear to be available.

To be clear, Arsene Wenger’s time should not be up quite yet. His contract does not expire until the end of the 2013-2014 campaign. Wenger is expected to honour his deal, and it’s unlikely that the Arsenal board will sack him. Perhaps Guardiola will begin his reign at the Emirates Stadium when Wenger’s current contract runs out.

Considering his achievements at Barcelona, Guardiola may be the perfect man to succeed Arsene Wenger as manager of Arsenal.

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Wenger: Arsenal will keep Robin van Persie

  By jtom | 10/03/2012 - 7:43 AM | Arsene Wenger, Robin van Persie, Transfer News
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Roberto Mancini recently declared Manchester City’s interest in Robin van Persie, but Arsene Wenger was quick to dismiss any notion that the Dutchman is unsettled at the Emirates Stadium. Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas did another interview about Arsenal and Jens Lehmann could join the Gunners’ coaching staff.

Robin van Persie’s contract does not expire until the end of next season, though that has not stopped a constant firestorm of rumours erupting surrounding his future. Arsene Wenger left no room for misinterpretation when he said: “We will not lose anybody to Manchester City, or to anybody else, because we want to keep our players. We want to keep Robin van Persie, that is clear; we will do everything possible to extend his contract, that is clear and, apart from that, I can only let people talk.

“I don’t mind [what Mancini said on Wednesday]. I read what Mancini said. It’s not so bad. At our level, we are professional people. I believe if you are to have one quality, it is not to be unsettled because what is said of you by other clubs is part of the job. I would just like to specify that Robin is not at the end of his contract. He is under contract until 2013.” (Source: The Guardian)

Wenger made similar comments about Samir Na$ri and Cesc Fabregas only days before both players left. However, the manager explained that he will handle van Persie’s situation differently:

“I was very adamant [over Nasri at the time] but at the end of the day, it was a difficult situation to manage. We had the players and we felt after the pre-season tour that [Aaron] Ramsey and [Jack] Wilshere could work in midfield and we could add somebody more, and if a player didn’t want to extend, where do we go from there … but we’ll see. We do our best to keep our best players.” (Source: The Guardian)

Others think that Arsenal will sign Lukas Podolski to replace the Dutchman, but Wenger made it clear that “our plan is to keep van Persie, even if we buy any player.”

Unfortunately, Wenger has a habit of making wide-ranging (and sometimes ridiculous) statements during his press conferences. Last summer, right before Na$ri and Cesc left, Arsene (incorrectly) said that there would be no players leaving North London during that transfer window, and the comments he made on Friday seem eerily similar. Many Arsenal supporters are already tired of transfer sagas, but it does appear that the Robin van Persie edition will only continue to heat up from here.

Cesc Fabregas talked about Arsenal again, this time in an exclusive interview with The Guardian. He spent plenty of time speaking about his dream-come-true in the Camp Nou, but he mentioned our club quite a bit as well.  About the recent struggles of Arsene Wenger, Cesc said: “Whatever he suffered I suffered it as well. We feel the same and we always try our best. The boss is very strong and he believes in the club so much I am sure he will find a means to bring Arsenal back to where it belongs. I have no doubt because he’s a great man. He knows when he is wrong and when he is right. He will find a way – for sure.”

The whole part about Fabregas “suffering” is odd, because for most of the interview he explains how it is has been heaven to play alongside Messi and Xavi. He talks about how he loves the drive and ambition the Barcelona players possess and how he adores training with Pep Guardiola everyday. It’s all a bit sickening really. Cesc was a terrific player for us, and it was a joy watching him play, but perhaps he should close his mouth about our club. Or at the very least, stop accepting interviews about Arsenal once every two weeks.

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have a coaching position waiting for Jens Lehmann once the former keeper receives the correct paperwork from UEFA. It is expected that Lehmann will complete his training with the Welsh FA and take the job as a coach for the Arsenal Reserves. However, the German Federation has a problem with Lehmann leaving for Great Britain after beginning his coaching training in Germany. In fact, he is currently in a row with the German Federation over this issue. Intrigue is always present in the life of Jens Lehmann!

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Arsene Wenger has up to £100m to spend

  By jtom | 23/02/2012 - 7:30 AM | Arsene Wenger, Injury News, Transfer News
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Arsene Wenger will be able to spend a maximum of  £100 million this summer. It was originally thought that the manager would have £50m available, but Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board appear willing to spend more on player transfers and wages in order to rebuild the Gunners’ struggling squad.

According to The Telegraph, “senior sources” at Arsenal have made it clear that Wenger will have between “£50 million and £100 million” at his disposal when the transfer market opens in the summer. Despite all of his other engagements, Stan Kroenke can afford and is not afraid to spend big money to help turn around our fortunes.

I’m inclined to believe this report because it was published by the The Telegraph. Their journalists tend not to fabricate many articles.

Kroenke has yet to really make his impression on the club. Arsenal have been performing business as usual since his takeover last season. Perhaps Kronke has taken notice of the recent criticism from some supporters that has been aimed at him. After the loss to Sunderland, some fans took to Twitter to bash Silent Stan, which is odd considering he wasn’t on the pitch and he didn’t fill out the teamsheet.

If these sources are telling the truth, Arsene Wenger may make some big summer moves, but the question is whether he is ready and willing to spend the club’s money. As someone who has a degree in economics, Wenger could believe that spending huge sums in the transfer market is not a wise plan. With all of the talk throughout Europe about austerity, many football clubs have been immune to the economic times. But with the rising debts of clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City, it is inevitable that the bubble will burst. We have already witnessed a big club, Rangers, go into administration.

Still, some squad investment is definitely neccessary. The current crop of Gunners simply cannot compete for the top trophies. At the very least, we should be spending all of the cash we have recieved for the sales of Cesc, Na$ri, and others. Also, if our results continue to decline over the next few years, the money the club is taking in will slowly dry up. For a self-sustaining club, that could spell disaster because less incoming cash results in less spending.

Arsenal season ticket holders are becoming more and more agitated with the high price of tickets. The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, who published a fantastic Arsenal financial analysis on Monday, have urged the board to lower the price of admission for European matches if we are in the Europa League next season. The AST also asked the board not to raise the price of season tickets for next season.

Of course, we should not have the highest ticket prices in the known universe given our failures in the last seven years. Perhaps the board will relent and freeze the prices for next season, but it would not make sense economically. Only when the demand for tickets meets the supply will there be a strong reason for the board not to raise ticket prices. Empty seats will do nothing to dissuade the practice of continually rising prices. The board will only pay attention when large amounts of tickets are not being sold at all.

Maybe the members of the board will decide to drop the season ticket prices out of the goodness of their hearts, but billionaires and millionaires do not acquire their wealth by showing mercy.

In other news, full-back Carl Jenkinson could make his return from injury on Sunday against Spurs according to The Press Association. He played for the Reserves on Tuesday night after missing three and a half months with a back injury. Jenkinson told Arsenal.com:

“It is fantastic to be back. It has been really hard coming in every day and doing my rehab stuff, but I am delighted to be back now.

“The injury felt fine; I had no problems with it at all, which is great news because you never know how you are going to react in a game.”

The North London derby may not be the best time to reintegrate Jenkinson into the team. With all of the pressure that comes with that match, it would probably best if he rests on the bench. However, Arsene Wenger is facing another defensive crisis due to injuries, so maybe Carl Jenkinson will get an opportunity.

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AST reveal Arsenal’s financial situation

  By jtom | 21/02/2012 - 7:15 AM | Transfer News
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An analysis published by the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, a group of small shareholders, has indicated that Arsene Wenger has £50 million to spend on transfers and player wages, but that the Gunners could lose out on £45 million if they fail to finish in the top four this season.

Arsenal will hold a board meeting on Thursday and will reveal their half-yearly accounts by the end of the month. In the meantime, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has created a detailed report of the club’s current financial position and also posed questions to the board ahead of the important meeting later in the week.

According to the AST, Arsenal’s transfer profit is around £55m. In their estimation, £50 million is available for Arsene Wenger to spend on transfer fees and wages. A problem will arise if we fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League. If we do finish outside of the top four for the first time under Wenger, the cost will be about £45m.

While we our budget will not be ruined by not qualifying for the Champions League, it would take a signficant hit. As Peter Hill-Wood said, finishing below fourth would not be a financial disaster for Arsenal. But, presumably on the football side, Arsene Wenger said it would be a disaster for the club.  

The AST also raised an interesting concern over the efficiency of the player wages. Our current wage bill stands at £130m- fourth highest in the Premier League. Conversely, Spurs spend 40% less on wages and appear to have a superior squad. The main problem, from my point of view (and the AST’s), is the propensity to overpay fringe players. When a player cannot cope at the Emirates Stadium, it is hard to sell him because no other clubs are willing to pay his massive wages. This seems to be the case with several players currently on loan, such as Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, and Carlos Vela.

We may learn more when the official half-yearly report is released and analysed, but the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has done a good job of shedding light on the financial aspects of our club. Overall, it appears that the club is healthy, though much of the money is locked up in payments for the stadium and real estate. There is cash allocated for Arsene Wenger to spend, but it is unclear whether the money is being held as an insurance policy for the £45m our club could lose if we don’t qualify for the Champions League.

Some information has been supplied, but plenty of questions still remain.

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Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal: Pressure piles on Wenger

  By jtom | 20/02/2012 - 7:30 AM | FA Cup, Match Report
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Arsenal’s performance against Sunderland on Saturday mirrored their dismal display at the San Siro last Wednesday. No longer in the FA Cup, the Gunners will certainly finish the season without a trophy.
 
The 2-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light greatly resembled the 4-0 disaster against AC Milan. And it wasn’t just the terrible playing surfaces. Arsene Wenger’s side showed an alarmingly low rate of urgency in both games. Other troubling signs from the two matches include (but are not limited to) our poor defensive positioning; lack of width; and the creation of too few goalscoring opportunities.
 
While the FA Cup clash at Sunderland was supposed to act as a ‘bounce back’ game, it turned out to be a continuation of that dreadful night at the San Siro.
 
One of the more disheartening factors of the last week has been the sluggish pace of Arsenal’s ball movement. We are accustomed to watching passes zip to-and-fro as the opponent’s defenders are left mesmerized. Unfortunately, much of that beautiful football has ceased to exist this season, but before the Milan match, the ball movement was still fairly quick.
 
As a result of this slowdown, the width of Arsene Wenger’s side has been close to non-existent. When Arsenal have been at their best this season, their wide players have been getting in behind the opposition’s back four. Recently, the wingers have been drifting inside far too much, which has made life easy for the defenders of Milan and Sunderland.
 
Part of the problem is that we have an overabundance of players who are best suited to play in the middle. Arshavin, Rosicky, and Benayoun definitely feel more comfortable in a central position. Arsene Wenger has said that he envisions Theo Walcott as a striker, and the Englishman has spoken of his wish to play up top as well. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has even been called a future centre-midfielder by Wenger.
 
On the subject of Chamberlain, some Arsenal supporters have been too lenient when discussing his part in Sunderland’s second goal. The Black Cats set off on a counter-attack after the Ox gave the ball away. To his credit, Chamberlain didn’t drop his head. Instead, he chased after the play and knocked the ball into the net for the own goal. For scoring the own goal, he is unlucky, but for giving possession away cheaply, he is guilty.
 
Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of the lucky players in that he escaped unharmed from the array of ditches at the Stadium of Light. Not all of the Gunners were so fortunate. Arsene Wenger indicated during his post-match press conference that Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, and Sebastien Squillaci all sustained injuries that will keep them out of the North London derby. Counting Mertesacker, we have now lost four players to that sorry combination of grass, mud, and dirt.
 
Arsene Wenger stopped short of blaming all of the failures of the previous seven days on the pitches: “I think it was a committed performance, we gave everything we had left but three big games in one week [Sunderland in the league last week, Milan last Wednesday and the FA Cup tie] were too much.
 
“We fought hard but the pitch was heavy and we were a bit unlucky. We gave absolutely everything that was left in our legs. Sunderland left us the ball but we didn’t create a lot due to fantastic defending from Sunderland. They defended very well and scored with their first shot. Then we had to chase the game and take every risk and got caught on the break for the second goal.” (Source: The Guardian)
 
Wenger was more complimentary to his team than he was on Wednesday night, although the performance on Saturday looked far from “committed” to my eyes. The mood at the press conference quickly turned sour after Wenger was asked about the criticisms made by some former players:
 
“People talk and criticise and analyse and destroy and it’s important we face all that and show internal strength and resilience. At the moment I get many lessons from many people. It’s very difficult tonight to say where it leaves us and what we will do. We have to take criticism on board, stay together and face the critics.” (Source: The Guardian)
 
The mood at the press conference turned from sour to ugly when a reporter asked Wenger about whether he would consider stepping down: ”I think it’s better we finish this press conference now.” (Source: The Guardian)
 
In the aftermath of our elimination from the FA Cup, many have gone for Arsene Wenger’s throat. And they are well within their rights to do so, but maybe they should sned their anger in multiple directions. Some fans are placing the blame solely on the manager, solely on the players, or solely on the board. In reality, the pie of blame should be cut in several slices and served to several different parties.
 
Arsene has become the easy target because he is quite simply the face of our club. Fewer people, though still a significant amount, are directing their angst at the board. Even fewer are pointing the finger at the players. In my opinion, the players should receive a more equal portion of the blame because they have appeared unmotivated in the pervious two matches. Sure, part of the manager’s job is to inspire his players, but these footballers should show some life simply in the name of pride. If not for pride, then certainly for their massive wages.
 
The seven-year trophy drought does not bother me nearly as much as the dyer performances we have witnessed this season. The overall situation has to improve. Each time we play like we have in the last two games, I nudge a bit closer towards the anti-Wenger brigade. Fortunately for Arsene, I’m not there yet.

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Wenger’s tirade could signal summer exits

  By jtom | 17/02/2012 - 7:34 AM | Arsene Wenger, Transfer News
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Arsene Wenger tore into his players at training on Thursday, which apparently stunned many who had never witnessed him so angry. As a result of the 4-0 loss to Milan and Wenger’s subsequent tirade, Arsenal could sell off some of the flops in an attempt to rebuild the team.

According to most of the morining papers (including respected publications such as The Guardian and The Telegraph), Wenger showed no mercy in criticising his players at London Colney on Thursday. The manager described the disaster at the San Siro as the club’s “worst night in Europe.” A source told The Telegraph that Wenger “went crazy” during a ‘clear the air meeting.’ Most of the players were stunned by the outburst as they have never seen him so displeased.

Apparently, Wenger was quiet immediately after the final whistle. This is not a surprise since there is a general impression that Arsene does not care for half-time or full-time team talks. But after watching the match again on Thursday, as he always one day after the game, he must have been even more shocked at the display by his players.

There are also reports that Arsene Wenger is considering the futures of Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, and Andrei Arshavin, among others. The clubs were thinking about giving Walcott a contract extension, but it now appears that they want to see more from Theo before they hand him a fat deal.

Most, if not all, Arsenal supporters (including myself) have been urging Arsene Wenger to ditch the dead wood. Arshavin, Almunia, Fabianski, Squillaci, Djourou, Park, Vela, Bendtner, Chamakh, and Denilson should all be dumped in the summer. Promising youth players deserve more of a chance than the aforementioned flops.

Rosicky has been playing well lately, so maybe we should hold on to him to keep some depth in the midfield. Walcott’s situation is very difficult. He is just so inconsistent but, at the moment, there are simply not enough quality players to replace him. In fact, Walcott’s good performances seem sprinkled in between mostly ineffective displays. If Wenger can find a proper replacement, then I would have no problem with him selling Theo.

One such replacement could be Lille winger Eden Hazard. It appears that Hazard’s agent has been hard at work recently, as the youngster has been linked to many, many clubs. Arsenal are just the latest in that long list. Hazard told Foot Sport magazine:

“There are several clubs that interest me in England and Arsenal is really a part. Of course, it’s always more fun when the football is beautiful. In addition, at Arsenal, there is a French coach and French players, as well as my compatriot Thomas Vermaelen.”

However, former Gunner Emmanuel Petit believes that we need more than just Hazard: “I like him (Hazard) a lot but what has he done at a high level? Has he been good in the Champions League? We haven’t seen him. Has he been good for Belgium? He’s sometimes even a substitute.

“What’s needed is five or six players of real stature, great experience. Players who are 27 – 30 years old at most. Players with technical qualities, obviously, but also strong character. A group of guys who refuse to accept defeat, who inspire confidence in the rest of the team.” (Source: sofoot.com)

Petit also had no sympathy for some of the current players, like Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.

Overall, this team needs more than just one or two players to compete for the Premier League title once more. A complete reconstruction is necessary, but that doesn’t mean that I’m asking for our clubs to spend as much cash as Manchester City and Chelsea. The Rangers saga should inform every club that they are not too big to fail financially. Perhaps, in twenty years or so, Manchester City and/or Chelsea will be on the verge of going into adminstration as well.

Even if we spend less than some of our competitiors, Arsene Wenger needs to be ruthless when buying and selling players. His keen eye for talent usually shines through, but he has to be more vigilant in offloading players who do not fit the bill.

If we can remain in the top four until the end of the season, it will be a real accomplishment for Wenger and the players considering all of the adversity. Despite the opinions of some pessimistic Gooners, qualifying for the Champions League is still very much attainable for Arsene Wenger’s team. For the rebuilding process to possible in the summer, it is vital that we finish in the top four.

 

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Camilla, Walcott promote reading; Redknapp can’t write

  By jtom | 27/01/2012 - 7:40 AM | Uncategorized
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Ironically, the Duchess of Cornwall visited the Emirates Stadium to promote literacy in children with Theo Walcott on Thursday, while Harry Redknapp told the court he “couldn’t even fill in a teamsheet” because he doesn’t know how to write.

Theo Walcott and Camilla partnered up to encourage reading in schoolchildren. The pair held a meeting at Ashburton Grove with children and talked about the importance of reading at a young age. While many Gooners call Theo clueless, he is actually the author of four childrens’ books. We’re still waiting on the book about advanced football tactics and positioning.

At the event, Walcott said: “I love working with children. I think it is important for kids to read. For a lot of kids, we are role models to them, so anything I can do to encourage that, which hopefully my kids’ books have anyway, anything I can do to help them out.” (Source: The Press Association)

Instead of helping children, Theo and Camilla may need to teach a 64-year old man the basics of writing. Of course, Harry Redknapp is not a disadvantaged or mentally ill (debatable). The manager of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is currently on trail for tax evasion. In court on Thursday, he said:

”I can’t work a computer, I don’t know what an email is, I can’t, I have never sent a fax and I’ve never even sent a text message. I have a big problem, I can’t write so I don’t keep anything. I am the most disorganised person, I am ashamed to say, in the world. You talk to anybody at the football club. I don’t write. I couldn’t even fill a team sheet in.”

”I pay a fortune to my accountant to look after me you know. He writes all the cheques for me and my wife. He pays my bills. He runs my life basically.” (Source: ESPN)

Redknapp is trying to get out of trouble by claiming stupidity, which could resonate with the jury given his obvious lack of intelligence. In fact, Redknapp’s dog has even taken advantage of the Spurs manager by running off to Monaco to set up a bank account. One wonders how (or if) ‘Arry even ties his own shoelaces.

In reality, this is a sad story of discrimination. According to Redknapp himself, he has only been charged because of his name and Cockney accent.  Nothing to do with corrupt transfers or foreign tax-free bank accounts holding large amounts of cash in a dog’s name.

Isn’t it odd that our French manager has a much better understanding of the English language than Redknapp? Many in the press have called Redknapp a genius for what he has accomplished at Spurs this season while calling Wenger delusional. The man with a master’s degree in Economics and another degree in Engineering, who also speaks six languages, is the fool while the man who cannot write is the mastermind.

Spending loads of cash has been key to Redknapp’s relative success as a manager, but it may also be his downfall. If nothing else, this recent fiasco will keep him out of the England job. Hopefully, he will leave Spurs in ruin when he leaves White Hart Lane just like he did when he left Portsmouth and Southampton.

If the Duchess and Walcott are looking to further their charity work, they may want to venture down to White Hart Lane to help a future convict learn to write. The children can wait because Redknapp is growing old and heading to prison. If he is to ever learn to write, it has to happen now. Perhaps someday, if all goes well for ‘Arry, he can further his education by receiving an advanced macroeconomics course taught by Arsene Wenger.

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Wenger: No Champions League would be disaster for Arsenal

  By jtom | 21/01/2012 - 8:00 AM | Arsene Wenger, Champions League
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On Friday, Arsene Wenger said that it would be a disaster if his side finished outside of the top four this season. Earlier in the week, chairman Peter Hill-Wood said it wouldn’t be a disaster if the Gunners miss out on the Champions League.

At his pre-Man United press conference, Arsene Wenger was asked whether finishing out of the top four would be a disaster: “For me it would be [a disaster] because I want to play with the best. We want to be in there, in the top four, and to play in the Champions League. Anything else would not be good enough.” (Source: Arsenal.com)

Contrast those comments to what Hill-Wood told the Daily Star a couple of days ago: “From a financial point of view, not qualifying for the Champions League is quite a blow. We have been planning for not qualifying every year, so it is not a disaster, but it would be nice if we could.”

The manager seems to have much more ambition than the the chairman who represents the board of directors. With the lack of squad investment in recent years, it would be silly to believe that Arsenal’s entire self-sustaining financial model would come crumbling down just because of the extra cash generated by participation in the Champions League. If we do finish outside the top four, the football side of the club will feel much more of a negative impact than the financial side.

Robin van Persie could be the first to depart if we drop out of the top four. At 28, van Persie is in the prime of his career, so he may not have the patience to wait for Arsenal to rebuild themselves back into a Champions League side. However, the Dutchman may feel some loyalty to Arsene Wenger, who brought the striker to the club at a young age and named him captain at the beginning of this season. Though, based on recent history, these factors alone are not enough to keep a player in North London (see: Cesc).

Apart from van Persie, there are not many other players who would interest Champions League clubs. Some of the current players should count their lucky stars that they are playing for Arsenal because they are already punching above their weight. Surely, Sebastien Squillaci, Andrei Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Tomas Rosicky, Johan Djourou, Ju Young Park, and Manuel Almunia wouldn’t interest any top European clubs, especially considering their wages.

The real problem would be luring top-quality players to the Emirates. Liverpool and Spurs have been able to sign a few good footballers in recent year, but neither club insists on running a transfer surplus every season. If we do fall out of the Champions League, there will need to be dramatic changes to our transfer policy. Namely, we will need stop selling our best players without replacing them with similar quality players. In fact, we may even be forced to improve the squad in order to fight our way back into the Champions League positions.

In order to avoid the disaster or non-disaster, depending on your viewpoint, Arsenal will need to avoid a third consecutive league defeat on Sunday against Manchester United, or Wenger’s disaster may become inevitable.

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Hill-Wood comments + Wenger evaluation

  By jtom | 18/01/2012 - 7:30 AM | Arsene Wenger
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Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said that it would not be a disaster if the Gunners fail to finish in the top four this season and miss out on the Champions League. Meanwhile, the British press and some supporters are wrongly calling for Arsene Wenger to be sacked.

Hill-Wood has been known to anger many Gooners, including myself, with his comments to the press. On Tuesday, he told the Daily Star:

“From a financial point of view, not qualifying for the Champions League is quite a blow. We have been planning for not qualifying every year, so it is not a disaster, but it would be nice if we could.”

The lack of urgency from the board is astounding. Of course, Arsenal should be able to stay afloat financially without the Champions League money, but, from a footballing stance, not qualifying for the Champions League could have very detrimental repercussions. Arsene Wenger would have trouble luring quality players to North London and keeping the current stars at the club.

Hill-Wood’s words almost sound like the board have been expecting the team not to finish in the top four. Considering the amount of cash spend in recent years, possibly the “plan” is to count on Wenger working miracles year after year. Qualifying for the Champions League consistently has been the manager’s great accomplishment since the move from Highbury.

While many Gooners, myself included, ask for more than just simply qualifying for the European Cup, Wenger’s success in this area cannot go unrecognised. He has had to deal with selling some of his best players and not investing the fees paid for those players back into the squad. Instead, our manager has scouted the globe to find little-known gems in the dust. Whether the board are limiting Wenger’s spending power or the manager is not spending due to his own philosophy matter’s little when considering the club’s performances on the pitch. Simply put, Arsene gets the best out of his players, and, because of that, he is one of the best managers in the world.

After throwing money around for years and after seasons of underachieving, Spurs are finally having some success, which is unfortunate timing considering the state of our club. Manchester City and Chelsea have jumped ahead of us only because of their massive spending over the last several years. It would be unrealistic to ask our club to spend as much as them, and, even then, many supporters would not like Arsenal to become the new club participating in what Wenger calls “financial doping.” Liverpool continue to throw money at overpriced English players in an effort to return to Europe’s premier club competition, yet they still haven’t overtaken us.

We should ignore the silly articles currently running in the papers, such as two stories in The Sun which were published on Wednesday. The first is a great example of lazy journalism. Six sentences reporting that Arsene Wenger will not buy any additional players in this transfer window. Of course, there are no sources, but what do you expect from The Sun?

The second piece is a bit more expansive, but still lacks substance. The column basically calls for Wenger’s head while suggesting replacements such as Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers and Norwich manager Paul Lambert. Perhaps these two managers will someday be good choices but neither are in Arsene Wenger’s class. Remember when many in the press were anointing Owen Coyle as the successor to Wenger? It is laughable now. Until they have extended success in the Premier League, Rodgers and Lambert could very well be in Coyle’s position a year from today.

Judging by the number of comments below each story, it is easy to see why the press choose to publish these absurd hit pieces. The articles are controversial and, because they cover “Arsenal crisis”, garner a lot of attention, both from Gooners and supporters from other top clubs. If only the media was not so sensationalist…

By no means is Arsene Wenger perfect, but he is one of the best managers in world football. He has deficiencies, but not many could do any better than he has done, especially considering the relatively low amount of money spent on transfers in recent years. He has an immense amount of loyalty to Arsenal, and it would be a shame if we turn our backs on him now.

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